The Slippery slope

The last 200 years have been very humbling for our species. We’ve gone from being the centerpiece of creation to a sideshow with an identity complex, joy riding on the pale blue dot. I can see how people might have a problem with accepting this fall of man. Lucy Temerlin, the chimp seated above, was a stepping stone for all of us. She was raised by a psychologist and was fully capable of making tea, lying about soiling the carpet, and creating new words to describe things she encountered. She could also please herself with a vacuum cleaner.

This doesn’t imply that we’re not special. It implies that everything else is also special- and learning how it all works and progresses through time, makes us appreciate all the more.

Share this:

Like this:

LikeLoading...

Related

One comment on “The Slippery slope”

Mr P

February 24, 2010

A human being is part of the whole called by us universe, a part limited in time and space. We experience ourselves, our thoughts and feelings as something separate from the rest. A kind of optical delusion of consciousness. This delusion is a kind of prison for us, restricting us to our personal desires and to affection for a few persons nearest to us. Our task must be to free ourselves from the prison by widening our circle of compassion to embrace all living creatures and the whole of nature in its beauty. The true value of a human being is determined by the measure and the sense in which they have obtained liberation from the self. We shall require a substantially new manner of thinking if humanity is to survive. (Alpert Einstein, 1954)